Second generation anticoagulant rodenticide residues in barn owls 2020

The current report is the sixth in a series of annual reports that describe the monitoring of second generation anticoagulant rodenticide (SGAR) liver residues in barn owls Tyto alba in Britain. This work is an element of an overarching monitoring programme undertaken to track the outcomes of stewardship activities associated with the use of anticoagulant rodenticides. The barn owl is used for exposure monitoring as it is considered a sentinel for species that are generalist predators of small mammals in rural areas. The specific work reported here is the measurement of liver SGAR residues in 100 barn owls that died in 2020 at locations across Britain. The residue data are compared with those from 395 barn owls that died between 2006 and 2012 (hereafter termed baseline years), prior to changes in anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) authorisations and onset of stewardship. As in the baseline years, the compounds detected most frequently in barn owls that died in 2020 were brodifacoum, bromadiolone, and difenacoum. Overall, 88% of the owls had detectable liver residues of one or more SGAR. Numbers of barn owls containing detectable residues of flocoumafen and difethialone. There was no significant difference in the proportion of barn owls with detectable liver residues of flocoumafen between the baseline years and 2020. There was a significantly higher proportion of barn owls with detectable liver residues of difethialone in 2020 compared to baseline years (5% vs 0.3%) but it was lower than in some of the intervening years (2016-2019). The ratio of birds with “low” (100 ng/g wet wt.) concentrations for any single SGAR or for ∑SGARs. There were significantly higher proportion of birds from 2020 with “high” concentrations of brodifacoum and summed SGARs (ƩSGARs) detected in their livers compared to baseline years. Average concentrations of brodifacoum, difenacoum, bromadiolone and ∑SGARs in the cohort of owls with “low” residues (100 ng/g wet wt.). There was no significant difference between barn owls from baseline years and from 2020 in the concentrations of either “low” or “high” residues for all residues summed (∑SGARs), bromadiolone and difenacoum, or “high” brodifacoum residues. The median concentration of “low” brodifacoum residues was higher in birds from 2020 than in baseline years. Overall, there were few differences in liver SGAR accumulation between barn owls that died in baseline years and in 2020, the eception being a potential increase brodifacoum residues. The lack of significant reductions in SGAR residues in barn owls in 2020 suggests that full implementation of stewardship since 2018 has yet to result in a statistically significant reduction in exposure of barn owls to SGARs

Second generation anticoagulant rodenticide residues in barn owls 2021

The current report is the seventh in a series of annual reports that describe the monitoring of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide (SGAR) liver residues in barn owls Tyto alba in Britain. This work is an element of an overarching monitoring programme undertaken to track the outcomes of stewardship activities associated with the use of anticoagulant rodenticides. The barn owl is used for exposure monitoring as it is considered a sentinel for species that are generalist predators of small mammals in rural areas. The specific work reported here is the measurement of liver SGAR residues in 100 barn owls that died in 2021 at locations across Britain. The residue data are compared with those from 395 barn owls that died between 2006 and 2012 (hereafter termed baseline years), prior to changes in anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) authorisations and onset of stewardship. As in the baseline years, the compounds detected most frequently in barn owls that died in 2021 were brodifacoum, bromadiolone, and difenacoum. Overall, 79% of the owls had detectable liver residues of one or more SGAR. Numbers of barn owls containing detectable residues of flocoumafen and difethialone. There was no significant difference in the proportion of barn owls with detectable liver residues of flocoumafen between the baseline years and 2021. There was a significantly higher proportion of barn owls with detectable liver residues of difethialone in 2021 compared to baseline years (6% vs 0.3%), but it was lower than in some of the intervening years (2016-2019). The ratio of birds with “low” (100 ng/g wet wt.) concentrations for any single SGAR or for ΣSGARs. There were significantly higher proportion of birds from 2021 with “high” concentrations of brodifacoum and summed SGARs (ƩSGARs) detected in their livers compared to baseline years. Average concentrations of brodifacoum, difenacoum, bromadiolone and ΣSGARs in the cohort of owls with “low” residues (100 ng/g wet wt.). There was no significant difference between barn owls from baseline years and from 2021 in the concentrations of “high” residues for all SGAR residues, including ΣSGARs. In contrast, “low” bromadiolone and difenacoum residues were significantly lower in 2021 than baseline years, while “low” brodifacoum residues were significantly higher in 2021 than baseline years. Overall, there were significant differences in liver SGAR accumulation between barn owls that died in baseline years and in 2021: a potential reduction of bromadiolone and difenacoum and an increase of brodifacoum residues from 2016. However, the lack of significant reductions in sum of SGAR residues in barn owls in 2021 suggests that full implementation of stewardship since 2018 has yet to result in a statistically significant reduction in exposure of barn owls to SGARs

Second generation anticoagulant rodenticide residues in barn owls 2022

The current report is the eighth in a series of annual reports that describe the monitoring of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide (SGAR) liver residues in barn owls Tyto alba in Britain. This work is an element of an overarching monitoring programme undertaken to track the outcomes of stewardship activities associated with the use of anticoagulant rodenticides. The barn owl is used for exposure monitoring as it is considered a sentinel for species that are generalist predators of small mammals in rural areas. The specific work reported here is the measurement of liver SGAR residues in 88 barn owls that died in 2022 at locations across Britain. The residue data are compared with those from 395 barn owls that died between 2006 and 2012 (hereafter termed baseline years), prior to changes in anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) authorisations and onset of stewardship in 2016. As in the baseline years, the compounds detected most frequently in barn owls that died in 2022 were brodifacoum, bromadiolone, and difenacoum. Overall, 79.5% of the owls had detectable liver residues of one or more SGAR. Numbers of barn owls containing detectable residues of flocoumafen and difethialone. There was no significant difference in the proportion of barn owls with detectable liver residues of flocoumafen between 2022 and the baseline years (3% vs 0%). In contrast, there was a significantly higher proportion of barn owls with detectable liver residues of difethialone in 2022 compared to baseline years (6.8% vs 0.3%), but this proportion was lower than in some of the intervening years (2016-2021). The ratio of birds with “low” (100 ng/g wet wt.) concentrations for any single SGAR or for summed SGARs (ΣSGARs). There was a significantly higher proportion of birds with “high” concentrations of brodifacoum detected in their livers in 2022 than in the baseline years. Average concentrations of brodifacoum, difenacoum, bromadiolone and ΣSGARs in the cohort of owls with “low” residues (100 ng/g wet wt.). There was no significant difference between barn owls from baseline years and from 2022 in the concentrations of “high” residues for all SGAR residues, including ΣSGARs. In contrast, “low” bromadiolone and difenacoum residues were significantly lower in birds from 2022 than in the baseline years, while “low” brodifacoum residues were significantly higher in birds from 2022 than in the baseline years. Overall, there were significant differences in liver SGAR accumulation between barn owls that died in baseline years and in 2022: significant reductions of bromadiolone and difenacoum and an increase in brodifacoum residues from 2016. However, the lack of significant reductions in ΣSGAR residues in barn owls in 2022 suggests that full implementation of stewardship since 2018 has yet to result in a statistically significant reduction in exposure of barn owls to SGARs

The OMERACT-OARSI Core Domain Set for Measurement in Clinical Trials of Hip and/or Knee Osteoarthritis

Objective: To update the 1997 OMERACT-OARSI (Outcome Measures in Rheumatology-Osteoarthritis Research Society International) core domain set for clinical trials in hip and/or knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: An initial review of the COMET database of core outcome sets (COS) was undertaken to identify all domains reported in previous COS including individuals with hip and/or knee OA. These were presented during 5 patient and health professionals/researcher meetings in 3 continents (Europe, Australasia, North America). A 3-round international Delphi survey was then undertaken among patients, healthcare professionals, researchers, and industry representatives to gain consensus on key domains to be included in a core domain set for hip and/or knee OA. Findings were presented and discussed in small groups at OMERACT 2018, where consensus was obtained in the final plenary. Results: Four previous COS were identified. Using these, and the patient and health professionals/researcher meetings, 50 potential domains formed the Delphi survey. There were 426 individuals from 25 different countries who contributed to the Delphi exercise. OMERACT 2018 delegates (n = 129) voted on candidate domains. Six domains gained agreement as mandatory to be measured and reported in all hip and/or knee OA clinical trials: pain, physical function, quality of life, and patient’s global assessment of the target joint, in addition to the mandated core domain of adverse events including mortality. Joint structure was agreed as mandatory in specific circumstances, i.e., depending on the intervention. Conclusion: The updated core domain set for hip and/or knee OA has been agreed upon. Work will commence to determine which outcome measurement instrument should be recommended to cover each core domain

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Safety, immunogenicity, and reactogenicity of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines given as fourth-dose boosters following two doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or BNT162b2 and a third dose of BNT162b2 (COV-BOOST): a multicentre, blinded, phase 2, randomised trial

Background Some high-income countries have deployed fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines, but the clinical need, effectiveness, timing, and dose of a fourth dose remain uncertain. We aimed to investigate the safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity of fourth-dose boosters against COVID-19.Methods The COV-BOOST trial is a multicentre, blinded, phase 2, randomised controlled trial of seven COVID-19 vaccines given as third-dose boosters at 18 sites in the UK. This sub-study enrolled participants who had received BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) as their third dose in COV-BOOST and randomly assigned them (1:1) to receive a fourth dose of either BNT162b2 (30 µg in 0·30 mL; full dose) or mRNA-1273 (Moderna; 50 µg in 0·25 mL; half dose) via intramuscular injection into the upper arm. The computer-generated randomisation list was created by the study statisticians with random block sizes of two or four. Participants and all study staff not delivering the vaccines were masked to treatment allocation. The coprimary outcomes were safety and reactogenicity, and immunogenicity (antispike protein IgG titres by ELISA and cellular immune response by ELISpot). We compared immunogenicity at 28 days after the third dose versus 14 days after the fourth dose and at day 0 versus day 14 relative to the fourth dose. Safety and reactogenicity were assessed in the per-protocol population, which comprised all participants who received a fourth-dose booster regardless of their SARS-CoV-2 serostatus. Immunogenicity was primarily analysed in a modified intention-to-treat population comprising seronegative participants who had received a fourth-dose booster and had available endpoint data. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, 73765130, and is ongoing.Findings Between Jan 11 and Jan 25, 2022, 166 participants were screened, randomly assigned, and received either full-dose BNT162b2 (n=83) or half-dose mRNA-1273 (n=83) as a fourth dose. The median age of these participants was 70·1 years (IQR 51·6–77·5) and 86 (52%) of 166 participants were female and 80 (48%) were male. The median interval between the third and fourth doses was 208·5 days (IQR 203·3–214·8). Pain was the most common local solicited adverse event and fatigue was the most common systemic solicited adverse event after BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 booster doses. None of three serious adverse events reported after a fourth dose with BNT162b2 were related to the study vaccine. In the BNT162b2 group, geometric mean anti-spike protein IgG concentration at day 28 after the third dose was 23 325 ELISA laboratory units (ELU)/mL (95% CI 20 030–27 162), which increased to 37 460 ELU/mL (31 996–43 857) at day 14 after the fourth dose, representing a significant fold change (geometric mean 1·59, 95% CI 1·41–1·78). There was a significant increase in geometric mean anti-spike protein IgG concentration from 28 days after the third dose (25 317 ELU/mL, 95% CI 20 996–30 528) to 14 days after a fourth dose of mRNA-1273 (54 936 ELU/mL, 46 826–64 452), with a geometric mean fold change of 2·19 (1·90–2·52). The fold changes in anti-spike protein IgG titres from before (day 0) to after (day 14) the fourth dose were 12·19 (95% CI 10·37–14·32) and 15·90 (12·92–19·58) in the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 groups, respectively. T-cell responses were also boosted after the fourth dose (eg, the fold changes for the wild-type variant from before to after the fourth dose were 7·32 [95% CI 3·24–16·54] in the BNT162b2 group and 6·22 [3·90–9·92] in the mRNA-1273 group).Interpretation Fourth-dose COVID-19 mRNA booster vaccines are well tolerated and boost cellular and humoral immunity. Peak responses after the fourth dose were similar to, and possibly better than, peak responses after the third dose

Transfer of cadmium and mercury to sheep tissues

Toxic heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury can enter the diet of farm animals by a variety of environmental exposure routes and, hence, contaminate food products derived from those animals. Therefore, there is a need to be able to predict the likely levels of contamination in animal tissues if exposed to a contaminated diet and also to estimate how rapidly an animal will decontaminate once the source of contamination is removed from the diet. Data on the transfer and excretion rates of Cd and Hg from tissues have previously been inadequate to allow the development of dynamic models to predict changes in the degree of contamination of different tissues of ruminants. A study is described during which a group of sheep were given a single oral administration of 109Cd and 203Hg. Measurements of the concentrations of the radioisotopes in tissue samples were subsequently made over a period of 1 year. The resultant data were used to develop compartment models to describe the behavior of the two metals in sheep tissues. To our knowledge the models developed are the first to allow the time-dependent prediction of the potential Cd and Hg contamination of animal-derived food products. Previously only advised transfer coefficients were available; we demonstrate that these are of little value for cadmium and mercury due to their slow rates of accumulation and excretion

Ecological survey of the Spey Valley birch woods, 1973

This dataset includes ecological information recorded from within 18 birch woodlands surveyed in the Spey Valley, Scotland between 1971 and 1974. Data collected includes plant species composition in the canopy and ground flora, soil pH, habitat management and a wide range of other descriptors at a site level and in more detail from 16 - 40 200m2 sample plots located at random within the 18 woods. The survey was undertaken by the Nature Conservancy/Institute of Terrestrial Ecology

UK Environmental Change Network (ECN) stream water discharge data: 1993-2015

Stream water discharge data from the UK Environmental Change Network (ECN) terrestrial sites. The data (stage and discharge) are collected by loggers at ECN's terrestrial sites (where a stream is present) using a standard protocol. They represent continuous 15-minute records from 1993 to 2015. The sites at which these data are collected are: Glensaugh, Moor House - Upper Teesdale, Sourhope, Wytham and Y Wyddfa (Snowdon). ECN is the UK's long-term environmental monitoring programme. It is a multi-agency programme sponsored by a consortium of fourteen government departments and agencies. These organisations contribute to the programme through funding either site monitoring and/or network co-ordination activities. These organisations are: Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru - Natural Resources Wales, Defence Science & Technology Laboratory, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Environment Agency, Forestry Commission, Llywodraeth Cymru - Welsh Government, Natural England, Natural Environment Research Council, Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Government and Scottish Natural Heritage